A Message From Emily

Emily and I talked on the phone for twenty minutes last night.

She expressed a lot of remorse about the situation. It started out when she was very young, 11, and it obviously snowballed out of control as an escape for some sad situations in her own life. Emily agreed she owed a lot of people an apology, so she sent me something to post for all of you.

To whom I have hurt:I am deeply sorry for all the pain I have caused everyone. It wasnever my intention to do so. This all started 11 years ago when I wasa bored 11-year-old kid looking for an escape from the pain andheartache I saw in my own family. It started almost as a fictionwriting, but the more time I spent escaping to it, the more “real” itbecame. I am so sorry it hurt so many real families, and so manypeople out there.

After several years of writing, I thought I coulddo some good with my writing. I had read stories of children fightingpediatric cancer and thought I could raise awareness for these kids.I owe perhaps my deepest apology to the Alex’s Lemonade StandFoundation. They are such a wonderful organization I wanted to helpsupport. I did not mean any harm at all, but I know I caused harm inhow I earned support for them. My actions do not reflect what ALSFstands for. They are truly wonderful people and I hope more thananything that I did not hurt their foundation. Every penny donated tothe 2 sites I set up with them went directly to them.

This was never about personal gain for me. This whole thing snowballed from anescape for me into trying to raise awareness and funding for pediatriccancer, although it was completely in the wrong way.

I am not mentally ill, we all make mistakes, some, such as mine, more gravemistakes than others. If I could take back the years of writingturned into the years of using others’ photos, I would in a heartbeat.

When I get up in the morning, I will be removing every page Icreated. It’s way past time for me to move on and do something goodwithout harming others in the process. I am truly sorry to each ofthe families I have hurt. I hope, but do not expect that you will beable to one day forgive me. Or at very least move on and forget aboutwhat I have done.

Lastly, I would like to urge you all to continue to support ALSF. They had no part in this and they really do deserve as much support as they can get.

I really don’t think an I’m sorry is enough. This is a woman who made this a part of her life for years. Knowingly lied and deceived people to escape. That doesn’t sound healthy to me. That sounds like someone who needs help. Is it true that she is in medical school? If so, this is not something that should be ignored. She started erasing things because she didn’t want to be caught, because she knew it was wrong, and it is. It seems to me she would say anything to get out of this. I’m not saying grab the pitchforks, but brushing it under the rug doesn’t make it go away.

I have a very difficult time believing that ’emily’ could concoct something so intricate and detailed at the age of 11 and keep all of the details (somewhat) straight for over a decade. Are we sure this is the perpetrator?

What makes you “definitely sure”? This is sooooo elaborate for an 11 year old. The statement seems so fake…. I could see this whole thing being put up by her as well. She’s calling out her own long con!? ha. Anyways, doesn’t seem like something an average 11 year old could follow through with. And I was a SMART 11 year old.

Sounds kinda contrived…either way. Stealing identities and saying you have a sick child when you don’t might be a crime. Leave well enough alone, turn all evidence over to her local authorities and they can see what if anything was gained or if crimes were committed. Especially if she is going to be some kind of doctor, where she would have access to confidential documents. This is a police matter for investigation and decision on charges if any are possible.

i just hope that one day Karma will get her and she will learn what suffering is..you will rot in hell…you are a a disgusting sick human….and you will get yours…so many mothers cry every night for the paint our little ones go trough ..and you make a mockery out of us…..no way will you get away with this you will get yours…

she is only apologising because she got caught,im sure she would have continued with decieving alot of people if she hadnt been caught out, and leayellowrose,i agree,i heard of another girl not so long ago doing the exact same thing,dejavu or what?

She’s probably already set up her next scam. If I were the parents of all the children she stole pictures of, I’d be contacting the authorities at once to press charges. To many people — kids and adults — seem to think the Internet is a playground. Until someone gets hurt. Then they’re sorry. It takes a very sick individual to go to such great lengths to con thousands of people as she did, and that deserves consequences. Saying you’re sorry is one thing; taking responsibility for your actions is quite another. My hope is that the families affected seek any and all legal advice at their disposal and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.

I just left a message for the actual mother “Esther” (on a previous post) whose image (and that of her child) were stolen and used illegally to solicit funds. I encouraged her to contact her local authorities immediately. At the very least, “Emily” would be taken in for questioning and you can bet they would get to the bottom of it. At any rate, her dream of becoming a physician or working with children is likely over.

Not buying this story, NOT.FOR.A.SECOND. Entirely too intricate of an emotional scam for an 11 year old to start. No way. This stinks and I hope people will investigate it further. Seems like someone wants this issue dropped and dropped fast. Something stinks.

I am the parent of a highly gifted 11 year old, who is exceptionally creative and loves to write stories. A few similarities between my daughter’s stories and those of ’emily’ are families with multiple kids. My daughter loves large families and ‘naming’ children and includes them in her stories. However, she does not have the cognition to invent something so intricate and keep the lies straight, and from a neurophysiological standpoint, won’t have it until she is much older. You can be intelligent and creative, but you can’t rush the myleniation of the brain. Cognition takes age, as does the ability to understand empathy. The person who who wrote this understands empathy enough to play with people’s compassion, but from my perspecitve is most likely a sociopath and incapable of remorse. Also, my eleven year old would not have the wisdom and real world experiences to know enough about cancer and treatment or various other contrived experiences ’emily’ wrote about. Obviously her story about why she did it and how old she was when she started is a lie. I am sad to say that I thought the story was embellished, but believed it. Right up until she said that ‘dana’ severed her spinal cord at C1-C2 and survived? Impossible. That is your brain stem and responsible all life sustaining functions. ‘Emily didn’t do her homework’.

Also, don’t forget, it only *started* when she was 11, and we are seeing the intricacy of 11 years of dedicated work building her “world”. It’s not like she started out at 11 with 50 identities and hundreds of images and thousands of Facebook friends — it grew gradually.

She is in fact mentally ill. Is her family aware if what she has been up to? I think that they need to be alerted along with the local police department and the local news media. She has perpetuated an emotionally scam on thousands of people. I cannot imagine the hours that has gone into this elaborate scheme. If only all of that energy had betoward owards something good.

I say keep your “apology” no one here wants to hear your “sad story”. Everyone has a sad story and yet (most) people do not create elaborate stories to “escape”. Whatever lady, you have issues and are VERY sick in the head! Get help!

The person running this blog “warriorelihoax” Is the same person who created the whole deception in the first place. It’s obvious and I wish more people could see it. Staying one step ahead of the game, being the first to know how much information is being found out. Throwing people off track. Claiming to have talked to the REAL emily and and that she’s so sorry. Claiming Alex’s lemonade stand confirmed the “dirrs” never had access to the money. You’re Fu*%ing disgusting whoever you are. I doubt there is 1 remorseful bone in your body.

Very much understand why you’re upset, but I am not Emily. I am a blogger but didn’t want to use this site (and the stories of children with cancer) to draw attention to my own work. In a community that I belong to, one of the regular commenters, someone I really like and admire for her kind heart, was very upset on Mother’s Day about Dana Dirr’s death. Something smelled fishy and several of us started investigating. Hundreds of readers emailed me yesterday and gave me this information. It truly was a group effort, as many many people can attest to, and I’m very happy that readers were able to find Emily and locate the real “Eli’s” family.

I don’t believe you. By uncovering the “real Emily” and “Eli’s real mother”, you successfully stop people from continuing their search. I saw your interaction with another person commenting along the same lines as I. You mentioned an extensive presence on the web that would tell us you are not the ‘scamming type’. That’s a sentence of words and nothing more. The other person said you gave them a dead link to your so called blog. Want to clear any of this up?

I do not believe this. There is no way this was written by an 11 year old. I can still go to JS’s xanga page. He started that in 2005. I can go back until 2009 and there are so many details, it is amazing how detailed everything in the blogs are, remembering birthday dates every year…. I think whoever the picture of “Dana” is really part of it. There are so many pictures with her with “Eli” in the hospital with nurses surrounding them and equipment. I also believe “Jack” is related to Eli they look so much alike. I do not believe the other kids are real…..

I highly suspect “she” is the person running this website- staying a step ahead of the game and “uncovering” emily and eli’s “true” identities so that the search will stop and they will not be found out. Just a hunch but think about it…

I would be happy to give anyone who emails me the link to my blog. Since its creation yesterday, this site has gotten over 100,000 hits and I don’t feel comfortable using this story to bring traffic to my site.

You know what, Beth? I am going to use words I don’t allow in my home here, but I have read your drivel and am disgusted by your careless treatment of Taryn and others, like me, who worked for days and through the nights to expose this scam. SHUT UP!
You are making yourself look bad. I know Taryn and she is not Emily. Before you even had a clue that this was a scam, while you were still praying for Eli and his dead mother, Taryn and I, and a few other wonderful ladies, were putting together pieces and researching, then we took it to the Facebook page where everyone was screaming at us that we were rude to be lying during the mother’s time of grief.
Do I blame you for questioning everything after what you have been through? No. But say it once if you must and then shut up. The police and news outlets will get a hold of this and the truth will come out and then you can see for yourself that it was SPECIAL, SMART, KIND, SELFLESS individuals,like Taryn, that broke this case. NOT EMILY HERSELF!

Julia, I understand a lot of hard work went into all these findings and I am sorry I’ve made you so angry/upset. I’m looking for answers same as everyone else and with the nature of the internet it is very difficult to tell truth from fiction. Is Taryn the person running this site? I do not know who you are and you do not know who I am.

For some reason I couldn’t post on your reply below. Yes, Taryn is the one who started the site – in a rush, with just a bit of evidence, with a question mark behind hoax?, because we didn’t know exactly what was going on – just that something was not right with no news reports about the death and pictures being stolen from Tertia ( a blog that some of us followed) Then people started sending in their own evidence, and Taryn and many others, spent all night awake working on piecing this together. It may not be solved, who knows. But, I do know that we are trying and are tired and have our own families and jobs and lives to take care of, so please be kind. We are in this together and are not Emily or Megan or any sort of scammer.

I agree with many of the commenters that have stated this apology stems more from her being caught than any actual remorse. I also agree that she should be held accountable for her actions and should consider seeking help- if for no other reason than the fact that creating so many intricate, involved “personalities” more than likely has to have caused some type of permanent detachment from reality. I agree that she owes an apology to those whose images she stole.

That being said, I do not agree with those who are demanding legal action and condemning her to Hell. While she went about it in entirely immoral way, she did help bring attention to and raise money for an amazing cause. I wouldn’t be surprised if this becomes a media circus and that too will bring attention to the fight for childhood cancer.

Please don’t take this as defending her actions because I am not. But some good may come out of this whole debacle. That’s my two cents.

While I agree to a point, I disagree about legal action. While some good came to wonderful organizations, harm came to families currently in the fight of their lives. Every time a family is struggling with expenses and asks for help, they might be ignored or forced to jump through tons of hoops to prove it’s legit…and those efforts could still be hampered by people not realizing it’s been verified. When someone falsifies this story, it makes us in the fight that much more protective. So maybe a family won’t seek help if they need it because of fear of being used or story stolen. Definitely needs to be legal action, not necessarily felony record, but some accountability to send a message this isn’t acceptable.

I agree witht he others, this apology seems contrived and unrealistic. Doesn’t even seem genuine or remorseful in the least. Someone who does this for 11 yrs is also VERY mentally ill, thereis NO DOUBT about that, and if there is, talk to someone in the mental health field and they will tell you . This is not someone who is set soundly in reality. I also don’t think an 11 yr old is capable of the emotion involved int he beginning of this. I feel as if the apology is made up, I really do and I respect the work that was done to debunk this mystery, but I almost feel as if you made this apology up to prove you solved it all? I really do not want to believe that though, so I will just say it is a guess.

But Answer some questions, I do not see why you would protect this Emily at all? SO for all those that helped you and were scammed, answer this…Where are her parents and did they reply? If she is not in medical school then why the comments on other people’s xanga pages saying they ran into her, a fellow student at a medical school? The studies she was a part of with animal research etc? Thats not from a regular college.

Where is Esther’s web presence? Obvioulsy there is one for this level or magnitude of pics to be taken from?

Yeah, because that would serve her how, exactly!?!? Please stop, you are going to be proven wrong and look really really silly. Look back on how these events transpired, honey. Way back to the Facebook postings.

Julia, is it really too much to think that someone who was capable of creating many different characters, over 11 years, stealing pictures of other peoples SICK children and identities, wouldn’t be capable of continuing her web of lies??? Come on, how can you not be suspicious? Not to mention that Esther doesn’t want justice??? And Emily “apologizes” all within less than 24 hours after exposure?

No, it isn’t. And, again, I said I understood the need to ask, But ask once, please don’t fill up the page with it. It is keeping the real work from being done and the real scammer from being exposed.

And I am not suspicious, because I have been here, with a few other ladies and Taryn, since teh beginning. Since the, “OH my word, you guys check out this blog, this poor poor mother died who had a child with cancer” – to “something just doesn’t add up about that, I can’t find any news articles and some of those photos” – to “wow, you guys, those photos are stolen, look here” to the making of this page to reveal the truth , to the posting on Facebook while being attacked and people claiming we were trying to ruin the life of Eli and his father.

So, yeah, I get it. But, I know that we are not Emily. Us ladies that dug into this on day one have been in a community together for years and years. We are not affiliated in any way with Emily. Megan. Eli James. etc.

And I know that it will do no good to use every sentence and comment on here to make false accusations against the hard working people trying to balance life and exposing this low life scum. It will take away from the truth, if you keep perpetuating it instead of helping us get to the bottom of this.

I, for one, want this person to pay to the full extent they can, mainly because I am worried about it happening again or what has been going on concurrently with this. The parents, the media, the police, everyone need to know about this. But, I know there are differing opinions and they all need to be respected. Just act as you think you should act in getting the word out there.

So multiple people are not allowed to ask the same question? And if they do, you’ll get offended? Julia, if someone wants to keep bringing up the same point, let them, they are entitled to do so.

Also, I too have been here. I too have been following Eli for over a year. I too want to find the “woman” who has done this. I didn’t just “show up” and want to jump on the bandwagon because it sounded like fun. And yet I am suspicious because none of us know each other in real life. Take a look back at the woman who thought she had a friendship with JS for FOUR years! At this point if we have learned anything, it is that no one can be trusted, not you, not I!

Listen, we are all here for one reason and one reason only, one common cause. If people want to question, they are entitled to it. I spent hours yesterday digging and posting, between my real life and this craziness. I am trying to help (even though it is apparent you don’t think I am). There is absolutely no reason to be condescending to anyone because they raise a question. If you don’t like the question raised, move on to the next. You were rude to Beth above, for no reason whatsoever.

kinda silly but its funny how ELI is “lie” transposed, and Emily is “my lie”. HAHA. I believe a coincidence but funny none the less. I have to be honest, Even Esther’s post seems a bit ‘off’? I know if this was MY kids, I would be LIVID. LIVID. Can we see a link to Esther’s FB page? Even if its now tighten? I want to believe this is the truth.

Beth, I work with Esther at About.com – she’s the Guide to Classic Lit and I’m the Guide to Game Shows. She’s legit and her son’s struggles with cancer are real. Esther has always, always been very open with what she and her son have been going through because they are active in the community, raising awareness and funds for other kids. Please, have some compassion. She only found out yesterday that her photos have been used in an elaborate hoax, and she’s still reeling from that.

Myself and a few others are just starting a foundation and we created a facebook page with less than 50 people on it. Esther joined it yesterday. I find it really strange because with all of this going on. I have never friended or talked to “Esther”, but I have talked to “Dana”. I think it is strange.

Esther – a REAL person, a REAL mother of a child who suffered from cancer – only found out about this hoax yesterday. Yesterday, as she was at a Make-a-Wish Foundation fundraiser. As I’m sure many of you can understand, she doesn’t have the time to track down these folks and gather information, as she’s busy living life with her now cancer-free son. She’s asked for help from friends (like myself) because she’s struggling with what to do, how to report this, etc. but she’s now taking steps to do exactly that. Don’t mistake her lack of involvement here to mean she’s not livid. She most definitely is, as am I.

Megan (Velveteenmind) has NOTHING to do with any of this. Coincidence is all (the name). If you look around you will find that she is indeed legit. People, people, lets NOT try and drag innocents into this mess.

When I found Esther on another site last night, her about.com page, then her business and personal FB pages, her personal FB page was private. However, it appears that “Emily” was able to get pictures off Esther’s FB at some point. So Esther either wasn’t private before, was friends with “Emily”, or is involved.

Esther is apparently a writer. Perhaps Esther is Emily. And the creator of this page. Maybe Esther isn’t real either. Maybe the person is someone else, pretending to be Esther, who is pretending to be Emily, who is pretending to be JS and Dana…there are so many different possible scenarios at this point, the truth may never be found.

Jeepers people. Way to completely out someone who HAD NO IDEA her identity was stolen for such a sick and twisted “game”. Esther is the real mother in the photos. She exists, her son “e” exists (what she refers to him online as), and she posted here because she heard of the scam, and had no clue what to do about it. And now she’s being maligned as the perpetrator, all because she’s choosing not to post here? Let the authorities do their job, and stop raking a strong but blindsided single mom and her son through the coals.

I am in the camp that word needs to get out on this and the proper authorities take over. I think the last person we need to take for her word is “Emily” herself. If even her name is Emily.

Are we sure Esther is not Emily? Esther’s pictures are being used on another blog with the name Megan. And, Esther has not tightened up her Facebook at all after the events. I am thinking we need to go high with this and let them figure it all out.

The woman behind this is crazy. Not simply bored.

And, no, it is not Taryn, or I who took it to Facebook and screamed fake and posted proof to take this scam down.

If you are still assuming velveteenmind (megan) and Esther are one in the same…WRONGO. If you look into Megan (velveteenmind) you will see she is legit. Lets not try and drag innocent people down the rabbit hole for merely coincidence. It doesn’t do any good.

Taryn, I don’t believe she knows any of them either. I think they are all innocents messed up in her crazy story. When one’s created a fictitious life/story such as this one,and you want to legitimize it a little bit, pictures is an easy way to do it. And if you need pictures where do you go, flickr, google images, etc. I mean it has already been confirmed that she stole pics of Tertia’s kids, WHY would anyone believe that a single picture in her “possession” is of the real her?

Thanks! I am just trying to find a picture that was on her page of Eli and Esther with a Dana. – She calls them her and her friend with Eli. I think this is hard because of the names, psuedo names, etc. I get that they are not affiliated with the velveteen mind lady. I am trying to figure out any Esther and Emily affiliation – if any.

I have no interest or involvement in this other than fascination. I am pretty computer illiterate and if I found the connection between esther/megan in about 15 minutes this morning why did no one else who was looking into this not find it? This is truly bizarre and I believe that “Emily” ( I think she is just another character) is definitely not running this and that this page is probably just another part of the whole thing. I think it’s very coincidental that esther/megan are both very interested in writing. Can’t wait to see what happens next.

I am looking into the relationship between Emily and Esther/Megan now. Please remember that I am not remarkably computer literate myself having been a stay it home mom for the quite some time. The pieces of the puzzle were still coming out as this page was started. So many people contributed with their findings. We were just finding things facts out and needed a place to put them. We went to the Facebook page and people were not believing us. We are simply real people who smelled something funny and went digging, just like you. Thanks for your poking around. That is how we will find the truth.

Esther appears to write for About.com and someone earlier posted another link to a company where she is employed. If I am remembering correctly, she has a literature degree. There is an Emily Dirr with a brother Elliott who are listed in a Jewish organization newsletters, I didn’t see any photos, just a family listing. This Emily seems to go to Kent State, while her brother goes to OSU. Was the name Emily also stolen?

The apology seems weird, and I have also been wondering about the author of this blog. BUT taking her and her friend’s word, I do understand the intrigue and wanting to help a friend who was upset by this hoax.

Very bizarre-I am not buying that an 11 year old–11 years ago could do this…no way. Not for 11 years, even on a simpler level.

I still don’t see anything about JS has anyone found pics of him. If I understand correctly is supposed to be Emily’s brother, although at this point who knows if any of it is real. Warriorelihoax, is this Emily Dirr you spoke with? Can she clarify what part is made ip and what’s real? If any? We all have a lot of questions and a simple “Sorry” won’t do it!

I’m very glad you traced Emily through her return address on the bracelet orders. Good job. She is in fact the only real person you can connect to this scam. I hope her family is made aware of this and gets her psychiatric help. She desperately needs it. She spent hours every day online in this fictional world for HALF OF HER ENTIRE LIFE. Yes, she is mentally ill. And she absolutely,positively cannot just stop. Even after she was discovered and outed, she was chatting online saying that it was she who was scammed. This apology was forced, and means nothing. Emily, you need psychiatric help, it is the only way you will ever be able to leave the imaginary world behind. you have an addiction or obsession, and it went way way WAY WAY WAY beyond mere boredom.
I sincerely hope you are charged with a crime, Emily.

I just thought of something. People say that this has been going on for 7 years, but the boy is only 5 right? I never followed the whole Eli story, so I don’t know as much as others, but did she post pictures of this kid since the beginning or only for the last 3 years or so?

You nailed it in the head!! So if she’s been doing it for 11 years, she started with something else, because like you said Eli is only 5 or 6 ish………then, Emily needs to come clean and show what other scams and fantasy worlds she’s created. If she’s really sorry like she claims and wants to stop.

ok, so maybe Megan and Esther are just look alikes, it does appear that way.

As far as Emily and the 11 yrs bit..She started it with the whole JS story, and his twin brothe rbeing murdered near UCLA and then the whole band bit etc and it looks like it morphed into the kids stories…

Megan Jordan is Velveteen Mind. She is a well known blogger, the friend of a blogger friend of mine and I think I even met her at BlogHer’10. She is NOT “Eli’s mom” and has no connection to this. They kinda sorta look like each other, but only in certain pictures.

Are you kidding me??? 11 seems to be the magic number here ppl!! Baby #11 born at 11:11…now she was 11 when she started this! I say quit reading and realize the whole thing is a desperate cry for more attention. The site here asks for an apology then..boom.. apology written. Same ppl.. and geez wait till the FBI investigate. It’s so easy to see the same ip addresses dumb dumb! You’re not the brightest bulb in the box! If I were u i would stop while you’re ahead. Delete it all and when you are questioned take your insanity plea like a cop out and get cozy in your padded room at the hospital since apparently that’s where you wanted to be all the years you were dramatizing a poor baby being affected by cancer!

Same boy. In one of the Mobog pictures it says Happy Birthday Ethan. This boys name is Ethan. If you do a people search Both Paul and Esther are shown to have a relation. I’m guessing they were married and now divorced. Just guessing of course.

Everyone is getting very tangled up in what are and are not cold hard facts about this elaborate scheme. We’re on the Internet, people… Anyone can be whoever they decide and there is no way anyone will ever discover the true identities of others without authorities stepping in. It’s very clear this was a scheme and it’s very clear a lot of people (self included) were taken in by this well-crafted horror story. We know the truth now, and it IS disgusting, it is beyond my comprehension how anyone could DARE use the childhood cancer support community to use and abuse the trust of thousands, spitting in the faces of families enduring real unimaginable suffering. And yes, I’m still mad too, but I really think the best thing we can do is focus our emotional energy on the stories of families that we know are true (news coverage of them often helps to clarify in some cases) All we’re doing now is allowing some imbecile to cackle away at their keyboard at the chaos they have caused. They’re not worth your attention, but true battling families are 🙂

If ya’ll wanna do good, and I believe you are doing good by exposing this, PLEASE, PLEASE watch the conspiracy theorist trying to drag anyone with the name Megan or who even looks similiar to Esther (who I believe is merely someone duped in this whole thing as well) down with ya and dig into them. I have followed Megan (Velveteenmind) and her blog and twitter for quite some time. She has NOTHING to do with this. Just, STOP, AND THINK before throwing people and their online reputations around all willy nilly people. Investigate first REACT second. A simple 10 minute google search will debunk any connection between Megan (velveteenmind) and this BS.

I believe that Ethan is the real “Eli” and Esther is telling the truth. I do not believe Emily is who she says she is, or at the least is a sick mentally ill young woman and hope her parents get involved/are found.

Here is info on a william dirr who coudl possibly be Emily’s father no?
William J Dirr Jr
(513) 489-1823

8702 Tanagerwoods Dr

Cincinnati, OH 45249-3526

Age: 55-59
Associated: Elliott W Dirr, Emily R Dirr
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Everything is being doubted at this point, unfortunately. We were asked to have compassion and quit casting doubt about Eli and his poor Dad but people still pressed on looking for facts. Nobody is claiming Esther had anything to do with this. I fear she doesn’t know the extent of this, however. It is very sad.

Regardless of sorries, she really needs to be tried and convicted. People go to jail for this sort of thing and she should too. It may have started when she was 11 but she could have made it stop ANY TIME. No one could lie for that long without SERIOUS mental issues. She needs either jail or to be institutionalized for a while.

As much as what Emily has done is a bit disturbing, she hasn’t actually committed any crime, unless there’s something in her state that they can come up with. Certainly nothing on a federal level. She did not actually usurp anyone’s identity, merely made up people and used pictures that are found online – where there is no ‘reasonable expectation of privacy.’ She had no personal financial gain, did not defraud people for personal benefit. At this point, the most we can chalk it up to is a lonely girl who lied.

So the real Emily Dirr with a brother Elliott and mother and father easily found on Internet started making up “stories,” at age 11. Later, these stories including a fictitious brother, sister in law and nephew who was one of 11 siblings and had cancer. She was able to continue these stories for 11 years, donate money to st baldricks under the names JS, Dana, Emily Dirr. Throughout her teenage years, she didn’t get bored or distracted. She continued this online fake life.
Did an 11 year old..11 years ago have access to Internet? How long has flickr been around?

I don’t believe a word this person says. As the mother of a child who passed away from cancer, this story is absolutely unbelievable. Unless you have walked my path, there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. I feel a mockery has been made of my child’s experience, trivializing what I’ve been through. The apology is pointless, as there is nothing this person can do to convince me anything he or she is saying is the truth. If there are criminal charges that can be prosecuted, I hope it happens. My hope is that there are no children in this home, and that they never experience anything resembling the fiction that was written. The slow, boiling rage that I feel for this person…but I am moving on.

How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours. ~ Wayne Dyer

This story goes way beyond “boredom” and an 11 year old with family problems and an overactive imagination. This is a psychiatric illness and let’s hope this young woman, whoever she is, gets some serious help. Having faced the illness and death of a child with cancer it’s so painful to hear this story and listen to her altruistic claims that she just wanted to raise awareness. Another part of her sickness, ego and self centeredness.

I have to agree that Emily is distrubed and out of touch with reality. She def. could use counseling services. But honestly, she raised money for a good cause. Because of her scamming us into thinking “Eli” had cancer she raised money to help our children with cancer. Im not saying at all that what she did was right. She could have channeled her efforts in raising money into more of a positive way.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand should contact everyone who donated in honor of “Eli” or “Dana” and offer them a full refund. They have no business keeping money under false pretenses. And even if everyone who donated decides they want to let the donation stand, they are every bit the scammers Emily is if they don’t at least tell their donors the truth and give them the option to rescind.

I donated to Alex’s lemonade stand and I DO NOT want my money back. I want to find a cure for cancer. As long as that money is helping, I am happy. I have donated to them before on behalf of another child and I will not let this hoax keep me from doing what I can to help.

even though the money was lured under false pretences,there is NO WAY that alexs lenonade stand should be described as “every bit the scammer emily is” they are every bit the victim here as everyone taken in by emilys lies!

Can you just give all this to the media and authorities and be done with it…. I feel like that is the best way to bring comfort to all of the people who are suspicious of this blog. I think any one of the people who are suspicious should stop sitting there making accusations and do something about it. At least that would bring some peace of mind to see it on the news or have the FBI handle it.

Agree. Send all of the links, even if they’re deleted and screen shots and correspondence to the local police. I understand what the blog was a good place to keep all of the information together the other night, but what’s the reason to continue it? A crime was committed by someone who needs help, so get the authorities involved so that can happen.

Whose local police? If someone KNOWS where she lives, you could send the information to them but it’s not likely they’ll do much with it. If someone personally sent this person money or goods, then THEY should contact their local police. But if you’re just a bystander watching it unfold on the internet…contacting the police is unnecessary.

And why not keep the blog open? People can come here and they can see it. They can see all the proof that was given if they want information about what is going on. News sources aren’t going to share EVERYTHING and the police will share even less. People are generally curious and want to know more…they can google it and find information here.

Unfortunately, she didn’t actually commit any crimes. There was no identity theft, she had no personal gain. The photos used were placed on the internet with no copyright. So while this is disgusting, it was not illegal.

Actually she has. She has been giving medical advice under false pretenses. I have found 7 sites where she has been answering the medical questions of others, claiming to have experience due to her sick son, and also because of a medical background.

For instance… My cousin and I built a bus for tailgating at football games. It gained some local fame, and at one point, one of the pictures that we took and put on Facebook, became the splash logo on the team’s online store. We were not protected under copyright law.

Instead of playing internet cops or internet lawyers, I think the best thing to do is to stop expecting a blog to solve the problem and let the police or FBI or whoever decide. Maybe she sold the bracelets, maybe she did more than this site has uncovered. We don’t really know, so I don’t think it’s right to say don’t report it because they won’t do anything. We just don’t know.

Let the authorities find out what’s illegal and what’s not illegal. Has anyone reported her yet? I’m only a victim of believing the story, but I believe you can go to FBI’s website and submit stuff to them. It’s our tax dollars going to funding this agency, might as well go to them so they can investigate and get the facts straight.

The FBI is not there to “investigate” people being stupid. Unless you (generally speaking, not you specifically) gave money to this person…don’t submit a tip…because you don’t have a tip of any crime actually occurring. You just have an example of some pathetic young woman pretending to be someone else on the internet. It happens all the time. Unless you have actual information about a crime, then don’t flood the FBI with useless information. They have better things to do than wade through things like that.

I’m done too, I don’t believe any of it, and I’m not convinced that this blog is not a hoax as well. Whoever has done this needs to be delt with by the proper authorities. In my opinion this was a crime on humanity, something has to stick as far as charges. I hope someone reading this with knowledge will report this to the media and the proper authorities.

Emily, this is none of my business. You are sincerely sick and I have no doubt about every syllable of your apology. I believe you are grieving your characters as much as possible for companions who helped you cope with icky stuff in your life. You need to seek reparation for your deception, and you may have to decide how to do that later. For now, seek the support of a solid counselor or clergy member and hold on like hell. Don’t give up on yourself. Someday this will be nothing but a bad memory. Thank you, Taryn, for handling this graciously enough to protect her privacy.

This is all so hard to believe. I am certain that the person responsible for this is very sick and needs medical attention. But the problem I am having is are we supposed to believe that at the age of 11, “Emily”, created this band “Vas Deferens” that contained a band member named John Dirr with a brother that was murdered. Has anyone googled Vas Deferens and what it is? I just cant wrap my head around the fact that this started with an 11-year-old. To me it was way to detailed in the beginning and talked about things that most 11-year-olds have no idea about. No one knows what is real, what is fake, and my head is spinning!!!

EXACTLY! And HOW, HOW does an 11 yr old know what a Vas Deferens is??? It is not just something you come up with and it is defintly something a MALE comes up with. and know enough about the sex quotes etc she posted they said? NAH, dont believe even an advanced 11 yrold knows this stuff. My 16 yr old niece wouldnt be capable of that knowledge.

I don’t think it started when she was 11 years old but I do think it started when she was a teenager. You learn was vas deferens is if you have comprehensive sex ed…and a teenager would be learning those things in school. If she’s trying to portray herself as a guy…overtly choosing something like that would be something she could do to try to appear more male.

If Everyone on this site/blog reports it to the FBI, the more important it becomes for them to solve the problem and determine the crimes committed. Just talking about it on this page is not enough closure for some and saying there was no actual crime and not doing anything about it is not helping the effort to move forward and provide peace of mind. I am talking with a friend who works with the NSA to see what can be done or if he can send this down to someone who can deal with it. I suggest everyone report it though. It becomes a top priority when more people report it.

Seriously?! This is NOT important! Flooding the FBI and NSA about a stupid internet hoax is overkill. MAYBE she took some money…but if that’s the case then the people who ACTUALLY sent her money can report it to their police and directed to what further steps they should take. You’re talking about a 20-something year old girl who wanted some attention…not someone who is a terrorist or going to hurt someone else. THAT is something that should be a PRIORITY.

Saying there was no actual crime is TRUE if there was no actual crime! And closure?? It was fake. That’s it. People need to move on. So you were fooled by someone who created a fake life on the internet and you felt bad for them because of their story. Okay? Trying to get sympathy from strangers on the internet isn’t a crime in itself. Let it go and move on. You’re making WAY more of this than it is…it’s NOT that big of a deal.

Oh and just for clarification…when I said she was making more of it than it is and not that big of a deal…I was talking in reference to flooding the FBI, NSA, etc. People have every right to grieve and be pissed…but I don’t think flooding the FBI should be part of that process.

What is the crime? An immature person pretended to be someone on the internet and had people donate money to a legitimate charity under false pretenses. I get that it’s a huge violation of boundaries, but what is the actual crime? I mean, the NSA and the FBI? Really?

I’ve done enough searching that I am 100% sure Es.ther is real and is who she says she is. I’ve found photos of her (ex)-inlaws with her son, locations match up, what exactly is she suspected of?

It’s about taking action and letting authorities doing the investigation to get the facts straight. It may not be for the FBI, but they could probably give the information to the right people for the case. Defamation of character, perjury, etc.

There was no defamation of character (they didn’t spread false information about a third party…they made up people). There is no perjury because they were not speaking in court. She lied on the internet but she didn’t have any financial gain from it. There has been no crime…just a sad person role playing on the internet.

Concerning copyright violation…that is up the the original copyright owner to file the necessary paperwork for copyright infringement. The FBI does not handle copyright infringement cases and contacting the FBI about something like this is completely ridiculous and a waste of their resources.

Who not whom. And the FBI and Homeland Security? Are you kidding me??
She did something stupid…but she didn’t commit a crime. If she’d taken money it would have been fraud…but from what I can see, she didn’t actually achieve any financial gain from this. It was just role playing on the internet.

People are just irritated because they believed something they found out was a lie. But contacting the FBI is just dumb. They have better things to do than to use their resources for some stupid crap like this.

I spoke with them regarding this situation for some insight on all of this, since they are both easily contacted. Both told me the same thing, which is that they would forward the blog and the information to the correct people and if any action would be taken it would be from them. Got it? So, whether or not anything comes from it, who knows, but they knows lots of people in high places! Worth a shot and took me all of 30 minutes and some fun explaining.
What’s up your rear with defending this trash anyways?? If she did something wrong then let them figure that out, not you, not me and not the Internet. She’s been exposed now it’s up to the right people to do something if anything can be done.

There was another case of a woman pretending to be a parent of a sick child facing 10 yrs and she didn’t get money either. And we don’t know if she got money, she didn’t in THIS instance but the warrior eli fbook page had over 2300 likes. No doubt packages/giftcards sent from some organizations she “liked” (*I found some groups through that page. I didn’t actually befriend her, but found other organizations from her warrior page. That’s why the police should be notified. They might find people that gave her something…if you do nothing it will get worse. When my son was sick people would just send him cards with $$ in it. We didn’t need fundraisers, etc. and therefore didn’t do them but people still sent cards and $$ in them. He was given an xbox360 and more. So there is a benefit, that’s why people do it. We might not see it as there was a link to alsf but for 6 yrs. she got something more than friendships I promise you.

Absolutely! She gained $$ from this and probably received many other things as well. She probably received gift cards, checks, etc. People do this for a gain, not just for fun. If you think that, you are sticking your head in the sand. Hence why, I contacted my friend and family and let the pieces fall were they fall.

CBW – Really? 10 years for making up a fake story on the internet with no financial gain and not actually causing her child to be sick? Where is the link to the story on that one? Because I find that someone would get 10 years in prison for something like that. Especially considering someone can commit aggravated battery which is a person felony and get only 3 years in prison.

And the problem is actually proving that she gained anything. Unless someone comes forward to SAY they sent her anything…then the case is dead. And in that case…then sure…someone who can provide an ACTUAL tip should do so. If someone has an ACTUAL complaint against her OTHER than “she made me feel sorry for her because of her sad STORY” then perhaps that would be worthy of mentioning. But someone just writing the FBI and saying “hey I have no idea who this chick is but she is pretending to be someone else on the internet” is absolutely pointless and a waste of FBI resources. No one was hurt and so far no one has uncovered any financial gain or crime. She was stupid…but you can’t punish someone in a court of law for being stupid.

I’m not defending her. I just think it’s stupid to contact the FBI about it. Sure…she created a fake life because she wanted some attention. This is the internet…it happens all the time. And last I checked…being sad and pathetic isn’t a crime punishable by law.

The internet exposed her. The scam cannot continue. What’s done is done. Contacting “authorities” about it if she hasn’t received any money…is pointless, IMO. They have MUCH better things to worry about than some young woman who essentially created her own RPG and some people believed her.

Anonymous @7:47…
You said “Absolutely! She gained $$ from this”…do you have proof? The money for the fundraiser went straight to charity NOT her. You say she “probably many other things” but that doesn’t mean she DID and unless you have PROOF then there is no crime to report. My neighbor is a shady creep of a guy and I’m sure he does many illegal things because it seems to be the type of person he is…but I can’t simply contact the FBI because I think he’s a dirtbag who has PROBABLY committed a crime. You can’t just go on a wild goose chase or a witch hunt because someone did something stupid and “probably” did something else.

I’m not “sticking my head in the sand” I just know about the law and behavior analysis. There is ALWAYS a motive…but the motive is not always financial gain.

Tinycandi….are you Emily? You’ve spent a “considerable” amount of time defending someone (who we’ve yet to determine is the “mastermind”)!

Have you overlooked she might have screwed HOW many children out of much needed research funding?? Did you overlook the FACT we’re trying to get to a CURE? PATHETIC!!!!

Stop defending the scamming con artist(s). I think tipping the hand towards the FBI is a great idea. Let them figure out what crime has been committed & the powers that be will settle this. Why just LET it GO? Why ask for it to be dropped Tinycandi? Something about this personal?

It is to me! I’ve seen children, real children die before my eyes. Yeah Tinycandi, it’s VERY personal, to many of us.

Anonymous@1:32 – No, I’m not Emily. I’ve also NOT ONCE defended her. I’m have not ever said what she did wasn’t wrong…I’ve just said there hasn’t been a lot that can be proven and punished in a court of law. I don’t agree with contacting the FBI if you don’t have an actual tip that a crime was committed. I don’t think it should be DROPPED, I just think that contacting the FBI is overkill and not a good use of FBI resources. I’m all about people exposing this on the internet and contacting their news stations if they’ll run the story…and DEFINITELY think people who sent her anything should contact their local police. That’s all I’ve said. I’m getting flack for repeating myself…but it seems that despite repeating it…people aren’t understanding it…because I continue to be accused of saying/doing things I’m not.

I don’t understand how what she did is screwing anyone out of research funding. In all actuality, she DID raise money for cancer funding (no, it doesn’t absolve her of anything else…I’m just pointing that out). While I think some people may be more cautious, I don’t think the majority of people are going to STOP being compassionate. Also, donating directly to a charity instead of an individual…definitely the safe way to go. People can still feel free to donate to individuals sharing their story…I would just personally check the validity of the “story” before doing so…just in case.

I have talked to JS Dirr for years online before Dana before Eli…. and I used to talk to his gf Ally I cannot believe all these ppl are fakes that this Emily created… ally and js named the twins after their favorite Canucks Matthias ohlund and Marcus nasland…… he Vancouver landmarks they talked about… most ppl not living here would not know about….
It amazes me how in depth this Emily got…. knowing here Canadian knowledge… someone from Ohio I still have a hard time believing she acted alone based on the conversations I have had with JS and Ally and even Dana over the years

I’ve seen a lot of internet hoaxes. I belonged to a mommy board and those seem to be full of them. Lots of fake pregnancies, miscarriages, even cancer. One time we actually caught someone who was Munchhausen/Munchhausen by Proxy and she was arrested and convicted.

It’s essentially nothing more than RPG (role playing games) but for different reasons. There used to be RPG groups pop up on livejournal where people generally pretended to be tv/movie characters. I think teens and early 20s generally delve into that kind of stuff for fun. It’s just to “escape” into a fantasy life for awhile.

But doing something like this is generally for attention…filling a void in their life. Most of them come with some sort of sad, troubled, or dramatic story…those are the kinds of stories that generate the “love” this person wants to feel. They take the “escape” into fantasy…but it’s into “real world” scenarios where other people don’t realize it’s an RPG and they truly believe it to be a real person. They keep up the façade to keep getting the attention.

Most of the people who take on internet hoaxes like this for attention are women in their 20s-40s…predominately white and single. I doubt it started when she was 11 years old. You can essentially “dumb yourself down” but it is impossible to make yourself write more intelligently than you are. The writings “sound” like someone in their teens…educated enough to write fluently but still young enough to pursue rich fantasy lives. These were very dramatic stories with highly improbable plot lines. The person was old enough to write elaborate stories but not sophisticated enough to present sincere knowledge.

If I had to guess, she was probably closer to 14 years old when it started. The weird spellings of common names definitely scream young girl and NOT guy. The “character” was born in 1982 and I’m guessing that’s either around the year this chick was born or a few years before she was born. She was definitely not in college when she was writing the story about how the professor said baby “Timmy” was better behaved than the students…professors are not going to allow someone to regularly bring a baby to class. So it’s likely that what she knew about college at the time was from watching TV. I’m also guessing she liked crime TV shows which is where the “criminology” came in from the “stabbing.” And the claim of adopting a baby girl…again the person is old enough to write an elaborate story but not old enough to know the process and likelihood of what she’s writing. It’s not very likely that a very young single guy is going to be able to adopt a baby…especially one who claims to be partying a lot and doing drugs and sleeping with lots and lots of people.

I didn’t follow it…but I can pick apart what I do know. Lots of things about it make no sense. I’m guessing the girl who wrote it is now around 25-29 years old or so…white, single, college student, and probably no kids. And she clearly spends a lot of time on the internet…because that’s where she feels comfortable. I think she enjoyed her fantasy life more than her real life…especially when she was able to garner the sympathy from others.

I’ve seen it before…everyone will see it again. It happens. She didn’t have any financial gain from it…there was really no crime committed. She misrepresented herself on the internet but I’m not aware of that being a crime. I think people suggesting contacting the FBI is absolutely ridiculous and a complete waste of resources. She didn’t HURT anyone. The copyright violations for using the photos…that is up to the original copyright owner to file the necessary complaints and pursue on their own.

This is very well written and I agree with what you’ve said here. Except for one thing: where you say she didn’t have any financial gain. I’m not saying she did but we really don’t know for sure. We’re assuming she didn’t because *she is saying she didn’t …. or is it because no one has come forward? She had gotten at least one gift, we just don’t know if there were more or if any of them were monetary. There is proof that she received a blanket from Donna Jantzen. I honestly can’t believe that she would accept a blanket and not any other gifts since she began this ruse back in 2005 or 2006.

And in that case, Donna Jantzen should go forward and submit a tip. But unless someone has actual proof that she gained anything (such as they sent her something)…they shouldn’t submit a tip. Law enforcement want tips that they can substantiate. For example, a police officer cannot conduct a search unless there is probable cause for a search warrant. People lie on the internet ALL THE TIME. It’s impractical for every instance to be investigated just in case there was a crime committed. But if someone has an ACTUAL tip of a crime committed…then submit the HELPFUL information that you have. Just saying that she lied about who she is doesn’t warrant an investigation unless there is some merit to an actual crime being committed.

I didn’t mean it to sound as though this should be reported to the FBI or NSA or CIA or any other government organization. I was just saying that we can’t say for sure she didn’t receive monies at some point in time simply because she says she didn’t and I do find it hard to believe that that was the *only gift she accepted.

It’s true what you and several persons here have stated: the only ones who can file a legitimate complaint or report with a local agency (one that will be pursued) are those who may have sent her items and those whose photos she took without their permission. Personally, I put watermarks on pictures I put on the internet and for FB, although my page is completely private with very limited individuals having access to my photos, I set it up so I am notified if someone tries to copy or tag one of my pictures. There are ways we can protect ourselves if we are willing to spend an extra 5 seconds to do it.

and it says she was in college 1999-2001. Was she in college as a 10 year old? Also, I seem to remember somewhere else it said she was 30, which would make sense with these dates.

Taryn, did you ask her about the age discrepancy? She could have just lied on her resume (she obviously has little trouble making things up) or perhaps she’s ashamed to say it started at *19* rather than 11?

I’m pretty sure you are right…the girl was embarrassed and thought being “young and stupid” was a better excuse. An 11 year old did not write that crap. It’s just another lie that she doesn’t realize makes no sense.

Replying here because the thread below doesn’t have a “reply” button and I didn’t want to post in respond to someone else above you…

“translation: a decade of emotional manipulation is nothing, really” – No…my comment meant that it wasn’t a CRIME to contact the *FBI* about. It’s not THAT big of a deal to warrant flooding the FBI with “tips” that someone was a deceitful sympathy hoard.

“really, grammar trolling?” – that part was snarky. it’s just a pet peeve of mine and I let it slip.

“translation: they’re all dumb, I’m smart. (in hindsight, of course)” – I said contacting the FBI was dumb…not that any person was dumb.

“and yet, you are blind to the fact that people WERE hurt by her devious actions.” – I was speaking about criminally/legally…as in she didn’t cause her real child to be sick in order to garner attention for it…for example. I completely understand that people were hurt emotionally…but that in itself isn’t a crime. THAT is the point I was trying to make. That doesn’t make it hurt any less…it just means that the FBI can’t prosecute someone for it.

“MY GOD, it’s been TWENTY FOUR HOURS, are you still mourning that a friend of 10 years doesn’t really exist???!” – AGAIN. My comment was in reference to CONTACTING THE FBI…that’s it.

“oh, but you saw evidence of the hoax right away… AFTER it was revealed.” – Yes, I already said that I did not read it as it happened. After I read the synopsis of I believe the xanga journal? Yeah…I thought it was totally unbelievable and flew up red flag after red flag. Take it however you want…doesn’t really matter.

“if only we were all as smart as you” – Are you wanting me to apologize for the fact that I don’t understand why someone would believe some of that stuff? It was an honest statement…I don’t understand. I CAN understand someone befriending someone on the internet and having a personal connection with them. I just think there were more red flags along the way…and I’m surprised more people didn’t notice sooner (unless not everyone read that portion…again…I don’t know ALL the details of how it played out over however many years and how everyone was involved). I don’t think people are stupid for not seeing it…I simply think a lot of the story was completely outrageous.

“translation: you stupid people were all duped” – AGAIN…I did not say that I thought anyone was stupid for believing the hoax…I’ve maintained all along that I’ve thought it was stupid to contact the FBI.

“She didn’t take anything…people offered” — “this is just unbelievable.” – In response to the fact that I said she didn’t take anything…people offered. What I meant was that she didn’t specifically ask for donations to herself (which would have been larceny/attempted larceny) and the ONE instance I’ve seen that someone sent her something…that person offered the gift (blanket). IF it went to trial…it could be argued that she didn’t ASK anyone to send her anything and it was sent as a gift. She accepted it…and they may very well think that’s enough…but likely it’s going to have to be more than just the one blanket to really make a case. And that was also why I said that anyone who DID send her anything should contact their police. My comments here were regarding LEGAL issues in response to people wanting to contact the FBI. For as much as you’ve complained about me repeating myself…you sure don’t seem to be grasping that.

” ‘I simply don’t think it’s that big of a damn deal. This shit happens all the time. People suck. That’s life’ — Is that the line you use at funerals?” AGAIN. This was in response to FLOODING THE FBI WITH THE STORY. It’s not a big enough deal to warrant THAT.

“Can I just ask…why? I mean…I understand compassion but I really don’t understand becoming THAT invested in someone you don’t know at all whatsoever. ” — It’s called “empathy”. “Google it.” – Just for clarification…you’re whining because I appeared snarky, right? But you’re being (and have been) just as much and at times more snarky than I have. Because I know exactly what empathy is. I was just asking why she personally felt THAT personally invested in this story. I’ve already stated that I didn’t realize she had a child with cancer, how long she’d followed the story, etc. Thus the reason why I ASKED.

“I’m sorry, but it’s just not THAT big of a deal.’ — to YOU.” – AGAIN…CONCERNING FLOODING THE FBI WITH IT.

“And frankly, if someone is THAT invested in a stranger, then maybe they should lose a little trust.’ — translation: it’s YOUR fault for trusting someone! Trust NO ONE!” – Way to take EVERYTHING I say out of context, man. Because THIS was in response to her comment how this would cause “LOT of people who in turn will hurt others, will get depressed, will lose trust , will do a multitude of things in response to this.” That’s a very EXTREME comment to make. If someone truly goes from this situation and turns to hurting someone else in response to it…then THAT person has some issues that need to be dealt with. It was NOT in response to every person who was hurt…it was in response to a specific statement.

“But you’re making WAY bigger of a deal out of this than it is. She created a fake sob story and people believed it. Now it’s over.’ — Another of your funeral lines?” – No, another response to FLOODING THE FBI ABOUT IT.

“And frankly, I think you’re being a little unreasonable because you are personally invested in this. You said you are someone who has been hurt by this woman because you spent your mother’s day crying for her.’ — translation: that’s what you get for showing compassion!” – She claimed she was a working mental health professional and my comment was essentially that she was looking at this as a victim of the scam which–I believe–gave a biased view concerning the stance she made as a mental health (whatever she is…I don’t think she said specifically if she is a licensed counselor or anything).

My POINT has been all along that I don’t think this case warrants flooding the FBI. Period I don’t think there are any criminal acts that will be enough to stick for prosecution. I may very well turn out to be wrong…but that’s my educated guess. All I did was come here and give an opinion just like anyone else. Never did I say that people shouldn’t be hurt by what this young woman did. Never did I say that what she did wasn’t wrong. Never did I say that no one should ever care about people they find on the internet. All I’ve said is that I don’t think people should flood the FBI and that so far I don’t believe that there will be enough to prosecute. THAT’S IT.

That is not the same thing at all. That woman was trying to raise money FOR HERSELF claiming she had a sick child. Just because she never received money, she was specifically asking for it. Her charges were attempted grand larceny…NOT just for creating a fake persona. BIG difference.

This person specifically said the did NOT want money or anything sent to her. The fundraiser collected money ONLY for the charity and the charity has been reportedly offering refunds for anyone who asked about it.

She may have had things sent to her…but people chose to do that. She didn’t ask. And only THOSE people have a complaint to file…not just random people on the internet who are mad because they were fooled and nothing else.

It strikes me as grandiose for people who were gullible to want to mobilize the FBI on their behalf, no? Like, almost as grandiose as the deceiver … Sigh. Okay, I’m sorry. No snark, I clearly believed the FB prayer bomb for some reason, but — ten years of texting? Sheeeeesh.

I agree brawkalicious. It’s SO much overkill to contact the FBI and I think it makes people suggesting it look a lot more silly than they did when they just fell for the story. We ALL do dumb things sometimes or feel stupid when we are deceived. But…for crying out loud…just let it go.

I don’t contact the FBI when my boyfriend broke up with me because he didn’t turn out to be the great guy that he made me believe he was…and I spent lots of time and money invested into a relationship that ended up sucking. I use it as a learning experience and move on. I am just using that as an example…it’s essentially the same thing. People do shitty things…but that doesn’t mean they did something illegal and it certainly doesn’t mean the freaking FBI should be alerted OR that it’s SUCH a big deal.

My point with the authorities is when you have a sick child (or in this case you fabricated it) even as in our case where we didn’t ask anybody for anything, people just send stuff. Then if you join the groups like the “eli warrior” page did they see oh eli was in the hospital. Everyone send cards, or I send a package, etc. The police/whoever can get to the bottom of what if any thing she received and if she committed a crime. It’s not for us to decide, and I am sure it will. This is too big not to get the attention of law enforcement, media, etc. We haven’t heard the end of it. I don’t know that she should be put away, but definitely need to get the story out there and find out who sent what. In the pediatric cancer world there are alot of caring individuals that just want to cheer a kid up and may not even realize this is possible.

You’re right…it’s not for US to decide. IF there is someone who DID send her something then THAT PERSON should contact their local authorities. But random people on the internet contacting hundreds of different local police departments and the FBI and crap…that’s POINTLESS. All these different agencies are NOT going to investigate just for the heck of it. There has to be something to investigate. And this is “too big”?? No it’s not! Things like this happen ALL the time and if there was no crime…there’s nothing there. Period. Other scams ASK for money, etc. and there is crime in THAT…but there is NOT a crime in simply misrepresenting yourself on the internet. It happens ALL the time. Like I said IF there is someone who sent something then THAT person has something to report. Everyone else just needs to sit back and take a chill pill. Flooding the authorities with information that is NOT helpful…is just that…not helpful. They need to be alerted of a possible crime…not just of a pathetic person who did something stupid.

And the story is out. Right now. This girl has been outted and she had to shut her fantasy life down. There’s already been at least one news story about it…by someone who DID send her a blanket who contacted the news station.

People need to just get over it and move on. Use it as a learning experience not to be too trusting. Because frankly…what I’ve read…I cannot believe people even believed this story. Some of the details made NO sense at all. People were fooled but they didn’t “lose” anything. You felt bad for someone. She did a shitty thing but it’s not a crime to want sympathy from strangers on the internet no matter how pathetic it all is.

What she did was stupid and wrong. However. The FBI is going to get to the bottom of this to find……that a bored and lonely teenager duped people into donating money to a worthy charity. Not to her, not to her famly, not to Mitt Romney’s offshore bank accounts. Googling enough will show that SHE made donations to many other kids and caringbridge sites in her name and JS’s name. I am not defending her and not saying what she did is okay, but she is hardle a matter of national security. –Anon of the “Really?” Camp

To everyone who is refuting the Emily existence based on being 11 years old, please take the long view. This is someone wrapped up so deeply in themselves and the feedback they’re getting from others — maybe she was more like 14 but saying 11 sounds more exceptional. Just pray for her to find fulfillment IRL and based on actual achievement. It’s all too sad to think about for long without going insane. I believe Taryn, and I think I was among the first to accuse her of being the author of the hoax. From the details many of you have shared, it doesn’t seem THAT airtight or impressive, just extensive.

I agree. So many of the details are absolutely ridiculous and frankly if anyone knew those details and still believed the story…I don’t understand why. And she may have been 11 when she STARTED the persona…but a lot of those writings were more sophisticated than that of an 11 year old. I’m guessing more around 14 years old…and I’ve seen it a lot in ages around 14…rich fantasy life.

People underestimate girls, for better or worse! I was a monster. A smiling, people-pleasing 4.0-earning monster. Not proud, but just stating facts. I hope she can break free from the Internet and just build a life in the discomfort of reality. Will keep her in our prayers.

Dear Emily,
You are a sick human being. I am the mother of a 4 year old little girl that has spent over half of her life fighting leukemia. I don’t know any person that isn’t mentally ill that would pretend to be going through the hell that we have for the last two and a half years. You say you just wanted to bring awarenes?!?!?! Try working with one of the MANY organizations that are working to do this… instead of fabricating a bunch of lies. And the worst part is, you have put a nasty scar on a great organization that is working hard to save my daughter and her friends! Shame on you. I will stop here because the words that I really want to say to you just are not appropriate.

Okay first off I am 19 years old but I can safely say at 11 years old I knew the difference between right and wrong, before anybody shouts me down saying about dysfunctional family’s I suggest you stop right there. I have spent all my life in care, I’ve had three different sets of foster parents and the remaining 11 years in care homes so if that’s not dysfunctional I don’t know what is!
What this ‘girl’ has done is horrifically wrong whether she did it for personal gain or not it is disgusting. She has used an extremely tragic reality played on the good nature, sympathy and trust of people for basically her own sick entertainment purpose. And I’m sorry but anybody who is saying there is no need for her too be punished I suggest you ask all the parents out there who have personally lost children to this illness and ask the parents of the children whose pictures she used how they feel about ‘accepting an apology and letting it lie’
She is a sick person and suffering with mental illness or not she deserves to be punished. The people who she tricked into believing she needed help, including myself suffered on Saturday night after the last horrific post was made, an for her to get away with all this well I’m sorry but it’s just not right!!

Just because someone does something wrong doesn’t mean they have done something illegal. A person cannot be “punished” in the law unless they have committed an actual crime. Sentencing has to be tied to an established crime. You can’t just prosecute someone for making other people feel sorry for them based on a fictional story.

I’m not saying that what she did wasn’t wrong. I’m just saying that creating a fake persona on the internet just to get attention is not a crime in itself. This is a sad, pathetic girl who just wanted to escape to a fantasy world and get some loving attention from people. People use the “sick kid” (or sick themselves) or other tragedies because that’s what garners the most sympathy. Just like with Munchhausen…they see the attention that other people get and they want that. I’m not excusing that…I’m just explaining that.

If she is suffering mental illness then she needs treatment. You can’t simply punish someone just because they are mentally ill. She’s not going to stop being mentally ill without help (and even then may not be cured). But again…while she did something that was morally corrupt…it wasn’t a crime in and of itself (without financial gain or something like that). I’m not excusing what she did or saying it was okay…I’m simply explaining the way the justice system works.

And concerning the pictures that were used…that’s copyright infringement. Those people whose pictures were used would have to file a civil suit against her. Again…not something that the FBI needs to be contacted about. Those victims can search the internet to find out how they proceed with a civil suit concerning the copyright infringement.

Anon@11:19…I’m NOT defending her. And clearly if you think I am defending her…then you’re obviously not reading the things that I’m saying “over and over again” and thus the reason why I am repeating myself…because some don’t seem to be getting it.

I’m sorry that my common sense is “suspicious” to you. Flooding the FBI is NOT what people should be doing. Focus on what this chick did, feel free to dig for more information, vent about it, get mad about it, etc. But do NOT let someone else’s stupidity cause you (generally speaking) to be stupid yourself just because you (generally
speaking) were duped.

I agree with other anonymous! Shut up already Tinycandi. You try to appear as if you have some legal footing or authority. Clearly you don’t.

There’s theft by deception! Identity theft & more. I’m not filing any charges as I lost nothing monetary but the jury is still out on just how many did part with gifts/money etc.

Ahhh Tinycandi. That’s where the real legalities are. If she received gifts, money & so on….based on lies its called “theft by deception”. Look it up tc!!! Oh & btw…based on amounts, maybe grand larceny.

Let’s not forget that URL can be tracked…IP can be tracked. Phone calls, specifically those on cellular can be tracked.

Anonymous@1:54…I’m pretty sure I already said that anyone who sent this woman anything SHOULD contact their local authorities. Random people claiming that she might have taken money isn’t going to hold any water…someone who DID send her money reporting to the police is completely different.

And yes…IP address and things CAN be tracked. However, if anything needs a subpoena, it’s likely going to require criminal activity in order to get the subpoena. IF they do find criminal activity and just need to tie it to the specific person…then it shouldn’t be hard.

I’m not saying this person definitely hasn’t committed a crime or definitely won’t be prosecuted. I’m just saying that based on what has been uncovered…it’s very possible that it won’t be “enough” to pursue charges against her. There may very well be a zealous prosecutor out there willing to take on the case. However, I have seen many times where that didn’t happen.

I Live in Kansas… imagine my shock when this very hoax came across on our local news station last night. There is a local person works directly with a local foundation who was also following Eli’s story.. She wanted to help the family and since they don’t take donations she made a blanket for Eli. She e-mailed Eli’s family his dad replied and then directed her to contact the aunt. She did and “aunt Emily” explained that the family lived in Canada so Emily instructed her to send the blanket to her. When news broke of the death of Eli’s mom people from this area who had been following the story (some through Kyrie Foundation) were really upset by the news and alot of tears and prayers were shed for this family. Then when people wanted to directly help the Dirr family and could not find any “real” information to send donations , flowers or what ever.. People started questioning what was going on and the story was picked up by the fact finder crew at the local tv news station. They also could not find any truth to the story what so ever. They sadly ruled the entire thing a hoax they did contact Alex’s Lemonade Stand (who also could not confirm this story and did not even know thier name was being used in this hoax. But they did confirm $$ had been donated in Warrior Eli’s name and they are offering to refund the donations people made in Warrior Eli’s (and Dana’s )name. They also confirmed that all donated money goes toward cancer research, not to families directly so Eli’s “fake family” did not get any of the money donated.

The person who started this web page is NOT Emily… someone on another site mentioned the tragedy that happened to the Dirr family and many people there started questioning this very heart breaking story. One member of that board/site put this site together, kind of nice so all the info everyone found could be brought here. She is also a well known liked member of that site and she nor any of us had ever talked about Warrior Eli before it was only mentioned by someone who was originally just sad about this story and shared it with all of us. Thats what started this site.. its not simply another chapter of the hoax nor is “emily ” behind it.

I’m also from Kansas…I was surprised that the first news story about this was from around here because well…nothing ever happens here. 😉 But it was understandable concerning the cancer foundation.

So far, all we know is that Emily got that one blanket. And that woman who was featured in the news story could contact the police and say that she sent this woman a blanket because of the hoax and it can be handled from there if they determine it is a case worth pursuing. Everyone else who wasn’t involved and never sent anything…doesn’t need to be doing anything besides letting it be handled by someone who DID actually donate something to this person IF they decide to do so.

IMO, flooding the FBI, NSA, etc. with “tips” is making a mockery of the system. You can’t submit a tip of a “crime” when the only think you KNOW happened was that this young woman played someone like a fool. Especially making LOTS of tips. There ARE other things in the country much more important than a young woman making up a fake internet persona and wanting some attention.

Legal issues aside, I think it’s completely wrong to imply that this woman didn’t TAKE anything from anyone. She spent years getting people to care about this Dana person, and then ON MOTHER’S DAY she concocted the most HORRIBLE emotionally manipulative story about Dana that you can possibly imagine and put it out there for all her friends to mourn over. Did any of you read Dana’s Facebook before she scrubbed it? Her last post was an emotional manipulation unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed, with Dana saying something like “My babies are home, I’m the luckiest woman alive, I can’t wait for tomorrow, I just have this pesky little work shift to get through and then I’m home to the absolute best Mother’s day anyone can hope for!!!” It wasn’t really that over the top, but close. And then she brutally kills her off and throws all her “friends” into terrible grief!

That is POSITIVELY EVIL! This Emily woman is SICK, and NEEDS SERIOUS HELP. The people she friended are mostly mothers, and in particular, mothers who may not have many good Mother’s Days left (I’m sorry to say that, but it’s true and essential to state to underline how horrible this was). And this nutcase sent many of those women into emotional turmoil on Mother’s Day! I am obviously not a mother and I don’t have a terminally ill child, but I can certainly imagine that for a parent of a sick child, one of their greatest fears is to be taken away from that child and not being able to care for them. And she concocts a story that delves directly into that fear. I’m sorry, but that’s as twisted a thing as someone can do without actually breaking a law.

So let’s be clear: whether or not a law was broken, this woman is GUILTY of taking something from people who are already dealing with quite a burden. This goes WAY BEYOND a simple little lie or fake identity. This woman should commit herself to an institution to get SERIOUS help, or IF she’s unwilling to do that, maybe she should be exposed, and the world should see the face behind this horrible act.

That’s the best comment so far. This woman is quite manipulative and evil and very well should be commited to an institution. Does anybody know if her family has been in contact w the creator of this blog yet?

Right. Michael is spot-on, but we are all living in a fantasy world if we’re presuming Emily has an attentive mother who is going to respond in a sensible way to this debacle. If she had functional family members capable of meeting her needs ( I think I already said this, forgive me ) —- she wouldn’t have done this in the first place. I’m not ascribing blame to anyone except Emily, just trying to be practical about the environment needed for someone to grow to this degree of depravity. It ain’t June Cleaver.

She didn’t take anything…people offered. I’m not saying that what she did wasn’t morally corrupt…but people made the CHOICE to become emotionally invested in the story this chick was telling. This is the internet…this happens ALL THE TIME, unfortunately. At some point, people do need to accept their own responsibility. I’ve done stupid things before…I’ve let people fool me. But you learn your lesson and you move on.

And this has been exposed. At least one news outlet has featured the story on tv. This is a great source of the details. The girl had to shut down her little scam. She knows she has been outted…and she’s not even trying to continue the charade. It’s done.

This young woman clearly has some issues…hopefully she can move on and learn from her mistakes. If she needs help…hopefully she gets it. But you just cannot punish someone for being “mean” or “making people care” or whatever. Because EVERYONE does something mean or deceptive in their lifetime. It may not be on such a great scale or with a story that personally touches people the way the cancer stories do, etc….but everyone does things that are wrong. And wrong is wrong. Period.

But wrong doesn’t automatically mean illegal.

And no…I’m not making excuses for this girl. I simply don’t think it’s that big of a damn deal. This shit happens all the time. People suck. That’s life.

I do not think you understand the magnitude of this. She needs help. she single handly hurt a LOT of people who in turn will hurt others, will get depressed, will lose trust , will do a multitude of things in response to this.

THIS is not about legal stuff, about stealign from people. It is about what ONE action can do to people and all we have left in this world is honestly how we treat other people.

Yes some people can stand to get over things…and often, but look at the people on here who have spent 6-7 YEARS talking to this “Fake” person. Finding out they are fake can severly hurt their pysche. I say this again with a workign knowledge of mental health.

These types of things DO happen everyday and the reason this website right now exists is to make sure it stops.

So let people try to stop it. Allow people their pain , resentment and anger. They are well deserved.

When I posted the comment above about it being featured on the local news I did so in hopes that people would understand that it was certainly a hoax. I also hoped maybe it would help people understand that this page was certainly NOT started by Emily and that the person who started this page was not any part of the hoax, she was simply trying to help get the message out. This story really played with alot of peoples emotions and I’m glad she did expose it as being false. Since it was picked up by my local station..like another person mentioned we are in Kansas where nothing much happens (except tornado’s), I’m certain other media outlets have also reported it or will soon. My local news was the very last place I ever expected to see it 🙂

I see no point in flooding police stations, or FBI ect.. with calls and letters unless you are a person who actually was scammed out of something of value or your personal photo’s were used. Its true that this story really hurt alot of people emotionally and many shed tears and so forth, sadly though thats not a crime. We can all say but this “Emily” person is mentally ill…yes I’m sure she is but she isn’t going to thrown in a hospital for mental illness over a internet hoax. I’m hoping “Emily” will realize that she does need to seek mental health care BUT my thoughts are her apology letter was bogus and I have no doubt she will wait a couple months and start another internet hoax/scam if she doesn’t already have one up and running strong.

Tinycandi doesn’t understand. She doesn’t have a child who has had cancer and she doesn’t have connections with the pediatric cancer world. It is more
Personal for us who have children with cancer and time and prayers invested in families who are going through what we have Ourselves experiences. It’s not about laws, it’s about being hurt. I am praying that Emily gets help. That is all
I have to say. Goodnight.

THIS! Exactly! I am pissed off that I spent my night , MY mother’s Day in TEARS for this girl/womans sick evil satisfaction! And as someone studying mental health, she is disturbed, there is not ONE doubt, not a doubt and she needs helps. NOT fromt he FBI but from a Dr. I want her found for that reason, to seek HELP!

Can I just ask…why? I mean…I understand compassion but I really don’t understand becoming THAT invested in someone you don’t know at all whatsoever. I spent MY mother’s day with MY mother and MY children. And maybe it’s just because I’m a skeptic…but I just don’t get THAT emotionally invested in people that I don’t know.

And frankly…YOUR heart was in the right place. So you should feel good that YOU were being a good person even if someone else was wrong. Because there are going to be shitty people in the world…and in the grand scheme of things this wasn’t AS bad as a lot of other things that have happened. People felt compelled to give sympathy…so far no one but the woman who sent the blanket is saying they gave her anything else but their time.

And in response to your other comment… I’m sorry, but it’s just not THAT big of a deal. People were deceived by someone they care about. I’ve seen these internet hoaxes before…and I can tell you that I have NEVER seen someone who was a “victim” of a hoax like this “hurting others” and “getting depressed.” IF someone is THAT emotionally broken over a stranger on the internet…then THAT person needs help. And frankly, if someone is THAT invested in a stranger, then maybe they should lose a little trust. That’s why we teach our children to be careful and cautious on the internet…because ANYONE can misrepresent themselves. So we expect our children to be wary of people on the internet but we can’t accept responsibility for ourselves? I don’t think so.

I’m not denying that this person has emotional problems to overcome. But you’re making WAY bigger of a deal out of this than it is. She created a fake sob story and people believed it. Now it’s over. People can be as mad, hurt, etc. as they need to be. But that does NOT mean that they should be contacting the FBI or the police just because they believed a lie. That is NOT a healthy way to “deal” with their pain.

I also have vast knowledge about mental health AND the law. What, exactly, is your status in the mental health profession? I mean…are you actually a licensed health professional or something? I am just asking for clarification. I’m a college grad with a degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology and I’ve done a lot of research for grad school.

And frankly, I think you’re being a little unreasonable because you are personally invested in this. You said you are someone who has been hurt by this woman because you spent your mother’s day crying for “her.” So you are allowing your own pain to determine the magnitude of this situation.

….and that drivel sounded like a reasonable post from an accomplished and supposed mother of 11 who is educated to the point of being a trauma surgeon? It sounds like exactly what it was — a melodramatic tween. Yes — I too took a certain gravity into my Mother’s Day observance, and I feel foolish for believing the post on Facebook —- but at the end of the day, we cared for a stranger. The rest of it is some deep-lying insanity, but I don’t think it’s regrettable that you were touched by it. I also don’t think Emily cares. She’s a sociopath.

Yes, I remember. I read that about a dozen times, shaking my head the whole time. And the previous posting, thanking her husband for the night out. And the previous one talking about her Monday sonogram. And the previous one, talking about how her adoption went through and how her family was complete. And the video of Dad talking to Mom’s belly saying “I can’t wait to see you on Monday”. It was *ridiculous* how over-the-top the manipulation was, yet I was drawn in. It didn’t affect me too much after I found out, but if I’d spent 10 years talking to this person and saw all that, I’d be crushed. Maybe for me it was SO over the top that it blinded me, because I couldn’t imagine someone cooking up something so VILE as a hoax. Only a robot would be unaffected by that emotional manipulation. (yet some people on this thread think it’s silly that anyone would shed a single tear — unbelievable.)

Too true! I actually choose to find encouragement in how pure-hearted most people seem, like the depth of this horror was impossible to process. It means the Emily’s are far, far outnumbered by feeling, trusting souls who see the best in others. Disgusting that she capitalized on that for so long.

Good point. It’s best if this possibility is exposed, and people tighten their filters accordingly. A tragic repercussion for those who shouldn’t have one more source of grief in their life. But reality online. I thought she started at CaringBridge, being tempted by the outreach, but apparently “JS” and his band predate “Dana” by many years.

Michael, I’m not a robot and never once said that it was “silly” for someone to be emotionally invested. I ASKED a question concerning that person’s relation to all of this…I was genuinely asking why that particular person felt the way she did (and I didn’t pay close enough attention to who it was that had written it and what she’d written before).

I am coming at this from an anti-mckmama website. MckMama is a real woman who had a real child with a real medical problem…and she had a lot more than 7000 people become her “fan” and follow her story. There has been a LOT of stuff come out about this woman…and a lot of things that seemed “off” for a lot of us. But there are people who continue to fall over themselves to support this woman despite some pretty undeniable proof about things she has done, lied about, the ways she treats people, etc. I watch people blinding support her trainwreck and I just don’t understand WHY they are so devoted to someone they don’t even know to the point of hanging on every single world and some spent a very large amount of their time consumed with this person who doesn’t even know them from Adam. It’s just hard for me to comprehend that when I know so much truth about her…I don’t see how other’s can defend it.

And I was never a part of THIS story. I never even looked at any of these sites before the story broke and before most of it was taken down. I’m not emotionally invested at all in THIS situation. Doesn’t mean I’m not capable of emotion…I just have none for this person. I’m not saying others who do were silly, wrong, or anything else for doing so. ALL I said was that I didn’t agree with the way SOME were choosing to handle that grief.

tinycandy, below I’ve listed more than a dozen quotes from you which I consider snarky, insensitive, or downright trollish. So, you might say I’ve taken your own cynical advice, looked at the evidence, and decided that I DON’T TRUST YOU OR YOUR MOTIVES. As far as I’m concerned, the evidence shows you are a troll here, piling on to the damage done by this Emily person. Sorry, but that’s just my opinion.

But take heart — you can take credit for converting me to your cynical way of thinking, and quickly identifying you as the troll that you are. So at least you can say you educated one of us. :-/

This will be my last response to you, tinycandy, because I’ve identified you as a troll and I don’t typically respond to trolls.

===========================
And the evidence in quotes, followed by my interpretation

“And closure?? It was fake. That’s it. People need to move on. So you were fooled by someone who created a fake life on the internet and you felt bad for them because of their story. Okay? Trying to get sympathy from strangers on the internet isn’t a crime in itself. Let it go and move on. You’re making WAY more of this than it is…it’s NOT that big of a deal.” — translation: a decade of emotional manipulation is nothing, really

“Who not whom.” – really, grammar trolling?

“People are just irritated because they believed something they found out was a lie. But contacting the FBI is just dumb. They have better things to do than to use their resources for some stupid crap like this.” — translation: they’re all dumb, I’m smart. (in hindsight, of course)

“She didn’t HURT anyone” — and yet, you are blind to the fact that people WERE hurt by her devious actions.

“I think it makes people suggesting it look a lot more silly than they did when they just fell for the story. We ALL do dumb things sometimes or feel stupid when we are deceived. But…for crying out loud…just let it go.” — translation: MY GOD, it’s been TWENTY FOUR HOURS, are you still mourning that a friend of 10 years doesn’t really exist???!

“Because frankly…what I’ve read…I cannot believe people even believed this story. Some of the details made NO sense at all. People were fooled but they didn’t “lose” anything.” — oh, but you saw evidence of the hoax right away… AFTER it was revealed.

“So many of the details are absolutely ridiculous and frankly if anyone knew those details and still believed the story…I don’t understand why.” — if only we were all as smart as you

“But do NOT let someone else’s stupidity cause you (generally speaking) to be stupid yourself just because you (generally speaking) were duped.” — translation: you stupid people were all duped

“She didn’t take anything…people offered” — this is just unbelievable.

” I simply don’t think it’s that big of a damn deal. This shit happens all the time. People suck. That’s life” — Is that the line you use at funerals?

“Can I just ask…why? I mean…I understand compassion but I really don’t understand becoming THAT invested in someone you don’t know at all whatsoever. ” — It’s called “empathy”. Google it.

“I’m sorry, but it’s just not THAT big of a deal. ” — to YOU.

“And frankly, if someone is THAT invested in a stranger, then maybe they should lose a little trust.” — translation: it’s YOUR fault for trusting someone! Trust NO ONE!

“But you’re making WAY bigger of a deal out of this than it is. She created a fake sob story and people believed it. Now it’s over.” — Another of your funeral lines?

“And frankly, I think you’re being a little unreasonable because you are personally invested in this. You said you are someone who has been hurt by this woman because you spent your mother’s day crying for “her.”” — translation: that’s what you get for showing compassion!

BTW, I got these from only half your comments; I stopped because it was getting too long.

I don’t think anyone is saying people don’t have a right to feel duped, outraged, and violated. I was one of the people googling like mad and sending in links to help expose the real “JS Dirr”. And i am glad that the hoax was ended. I just do not believe for one second that anyone beyond local authorities, charities, and the families whose photos were ripped off need to be involved. Emily is an ass for duping everyone, but as tinycandi said, being stupid is unfortunately not a crime. Deep breaths people.

There is a middle ground between “she did nothing to nobody” and “call the FBI!”. She hurt a lot of people with her manipulations and even if no laws were technically broken, she SHOULD get help. And if she doesn’t get help, she deserve anything she gets. If I had been emotionally involved with this for years, and all I got was that lame apology, I might be tempted to use the same tools she used (the Internet, Google, Facebook) to make her name synonymous with “heartless fraud”. It’s a double-edged sword you know; if she can lie for 10 years, others can simply tell the truth and make her life miserable.

What she needs is some tough love so that she gets the help she desperately needs, and if the legal system is powerless, then other legal means of coercion should be on the table,

I agree. I’m not saying that she did NOTHING…I’m just saying that what she did is not “call the FBI” worthy. She SHOULD get help…but that doesn’t mean she will. If she’s not a danger to herself or others…she cannot be committed against her will. I’m all about bringing what she did to light and making it known what she did. But “other legal means of coercion” I guess is something I don’t understand as far as what you mean. And forcing someone into treatment has not been shown a reliable move as far as rehabilitating someone.

You can’t control others…you can only control yourself. Use this as a learning experience. Everyone needs to take caution in what they believe on the internet. If you become emotionally invested…understand you do so with the risk of being deceived. Because this is life…and this is the internet. It’s a lot easier to protect yourself in the first place than it is to “punish” someone when they take advantage of your kindness. That’s just my advice.

tinycandi, we get it. Everyone is responsible for their own emotions and no external influence should affect that. I’m guessing that for you, 9/11/01 was a Tuesday, the tsunami was a big wave, and losing a close friend is inconvenient because you have to take time off for the funeral. But other people DO form relationships and DO care, even if they never meet in person. People actually get MARRIED after forming relationships online. It may be foreign to you, but most of the people of the world have something called empathy, and it IS something tangible, limited, and valuable. It’s what makes society work. This woman took their empathy on false pretense and used it for her own twisted purposes. Now maybe in your world that amounts to nothing, but I (and most non-robots) respectfully disagree.

I’m not saying that external influences should not affect a person’s emotions. And sorry…but your “guess” is wrong. I’m not an emotional robot…I’m just a person with a logical mind. I am very affected by things that affect me personally…and I have compassion for issues that do not. *I* have formed lasting relationships with people online myself. I’ve flown to Indiana and Chicago both to meet friends that I made on the internet and one stayed in my home when he came to visit me. There are many people I consider myself very close to…some I’ve never met at all. I have offered my condolences to “strangers” on the internet in the face of tragedy.

I’ve also been personally involved in many “investigations” to sniff out people who are fakes. I was even part of a group who investigated a woman for Munchhausen by Proxy (causing her child to be ill for attention) who was arrested and convicted of her crimes.

However, I am realistic. And I know that if any of these people that I’m close to deceives me…I will be upset about it. And if that person also deceived others…I would be the first to make sure that people know. But I’m not going to pretend that it was some federal crime just because I believed someone who was a fake. I also have the sense to recognize that *I* chose to befriend this person and that *I* did nothing wrong by caring…I was still a good person even if they were not. I just choose to have perspective.

I’m NOT saying that people shouldn’t be upset. I’m just saying that you can’t call the FBI just because you’re upset. I’m also not saying that everyone is…I was responding to those who were suggesting it.

I never said to call the FBI, tinycandi, and indeed I agree that the legal case is probably sketchy. All *I* said was she DID take something from these people even if it wasn’t monetary, and you keep arguing the point.

Anonymous@2:03…I’m responding to comments that come to my inbox and feel there’s something I wish to say in response. I didn’t anticipate that what I said would turn into an argument…I simply thought I was offering an opinion. Some people took issue with it.

And no, I’m not affiliated in any way with whoever this person is. But thanks for the wild accusation otherwise.

Ugh… Tinycandy. I recall you from another forum. Please keep your posts succinct. Saying the same thing over and over is not really lending anything to the conversation. I remember on the last forum, you got called out for spending so much time online and having young kids. This was a few years ago. I’m surprised to see a ‘familar face’.

Yes. I still have the same personality I’ve had for the last 30 years. Probably not going to change…but thank you for pointing it out in case I hadn’t noticed. I believe in being thorough when explaining my point. You can disagree with my point of view…but arguing the way I present my opinion is kinda pointless.

I don’t understand why your on here devoting so much time to something that you clearly are “above”? What is your motive here? I don’t think the FBI should be called at all. I do get emotionally involved in ‘people’. Seeing them face to face does not need to occur. Just like your anger towards some on here, although anger is a big word, I cannot find any other that suits. YOU TOO are becoming involved with ‘strangers’. The time I spend reading things online, the time I spend responding, it is my time and I ‘m involved because I’m real and feel and I do care about strangers…OFTEN. It is what makes me …well…ME actually and I won’t apologize. I did not know the back story so I wont call myself stupid for not ‘getting it’. I did actually think the scenario as it played out was weird, but I didn’t geta chance to give it much thought before it was debunked.
I spent MY time being sad because in my mind it was a human family suffering great loss and I am a compassionate person who in my hippie moments wants a cure for cancer, world peace and to feed the starving kids, ( again, whether I ever meet them IRL or not).

I do not understand why my compassion is so disgusting to you as your words and your words to others are nothing but attempts to put down our stupidity when we may very well feel the same in return about you for your lack of emotion.

Or, Frustrated, you can just stop reading what I say…or feel free to stop responding to me. I read what others had written, I had an opinion, and I responded. I can’t see the point in arguing about that here.

Everyone here continues to state their point. No one is changing their point of view. The only ones who seem to have a problem with me stating my views are the ones who disagree.

I’d rather you just stop shoving your opinion down our throats on every single post somebody makes. I’d like to see this woman be held accountable for her actions. I’m a mom, I’m very compassionate and I don’t know what makes it so hard for you to understand that this woman needs to face the music for what she did. Whether that is legally or non legally that is NOT up to YOU, but if all of us just sat back like you are and said “well folks that’s all, nothing left to see here because I know everything and nothing will be done about this,” then nothing would ever get done in either direction. Don’t mock us for wanting her to get help and by trying to get her help people contact individuals they may know through connections or through the Internet or just pick up the phone and call somebody because that’s what they felt like doing. People are being proactive in their own ways and if that’s not your way then in your eyes it’s stupid and shouldn’t even be talked about and if it is, you’re going to repeat yourself over and over again by telling them that they are pretty much dumb. Way to go…

I’m responding because now I keep getting every single post in this tread sent to my email because I accidentally left the “notify me of follow-up comments via email” in a response and now I get every single response. I happen to have time at the moment to indulge in the situation. This is the way I am…telling me not to offer my opinions in this way is about as effective as your idea that I’m telling people that they are stupid for caring (which I’m not doing). People are the way they are. So why don’t we just let go of that argument.

I’m not lacking compassion, I don’t think anyone is stupid for having compassion, and I’m not angry with anyone in this conversation. That is all conjecture…I’ve not once said any of that. And if you believe those things…then no, you do NOT see my point.

I simply offered a voice of reason…because I’m not emotionally invested in THIS situation. I came in after the fact and was intrigued by what this woman did from a profiling standpoint. The reason why I started responding to comments was because people started suggesting contacting the FBI…which is NOT the thing to do.

I don’t think anyone is “stupid” for falling prey to what this woman did. However, I think some of the actions in response to your feelings of betrayal are inappropriate. I completely understand wanting to see her held accountable for her actions. But what I’m saying is that contacting the FBI is not going to make that happen and people need to STOP encouraging people to do so. Because this is NOT a case warranting FBI involvement. You don’t have to like that point…but it’s a true point. I was stating the fact that she hasn’t done anything at this point to warrant criminal charges. I explained the way the criminal justice system works. I’m not saying what she did wasn’t wrong or that it didn’t hurt people…I simply pointed out that there isn’t enough to make a criminal legal case…and that people should stop suggesting contacting the FBI, NSA, etc. That is all. I haven’t deterred anyone from dealing in their own ways, exposing her, etc.

Other than that…all I did was offer advice to essentially take everything you read on the internet with a grain of salt and understand that when you extend your compassion…it COULD result in deception. Don’t stop being compassionate…just protect yourself and know that things like this happen fairly often.

AND…feel free to contact your news stations and get the word out about what this woman did. At this point…that’s really all that can be done to “punish” her. If anyone DID send this woman something…contact your local authorities and have them direct you to what steps can be taken. If she used your pictures, you can look up on the internet to find what can be done to file a civil suit for copyright infringement.

Pshaw! You seem to have a three-digit IQ and fair expectation of the human condition. I think you’re neat. And if we were all to be judged on the productivity we *could* be capable of while offline rather than spewing opinions all over message boards —- well, let those without sin cast the first stone, I guess.

First of all, I’m stupid tired, just got home from spending nine hours at the hospital with cancer survivor son going through follow-up tests (we’ve got the all clear/all is good for another year – we’re into year 12 post treatment). I watched dozens of children come into the clinic to get treatment (on active treatment) today and I remember what it was like, as a parent, all those years ago when my son was first diagnosed. While his medical treatment was excellent, what was lacking back then was emotional/psychological support for parents. It wasn’t until my son finished treatment that I was lucky enough to find an online support group (and then was asked to help co-found a splinter group for the specific type of childhood cancer that affected our family). I cannot express how important that support was to me. It saved my sanity, and it also saved our family’s lives (health issues that we wouldn’t have known where to begin getting investigated if not for others sharing their stories and wisdom).
It breaks my heart to think that the person who committed this deceit has “spooked” other families from seeking support and/or “hardened” other families from offering support (emotional/psychological) to others going through this.
The ripple of harm has just been set in motion and it’s not over yet. Universe forbid a family with a child named Eli should find themselves newly diagnosed and now looking for support. *sigh*
I’ll still be out there in the virtual ether. I’ll continue to reach out and support other families. I can never forget how much it meant to me when it was offered to me in my dark days. I will be forever grateful to those individuals and families that were and are there for me.
I do think “Emily” should be held accountable for her actions. Yes, we all make mistakes and do stupid things, but most of us are held accountable in some form or another for the things we do that hurt others. Unless we truly grasp the magnitude of what we’ve done, we can’t learn how to NOT do it again in the future. And, no, I’m not talking about throwing her ass in jail (technically, she hasn’t done anything illegal).
Her actions have hurt people; her actions will hurt other people in the future (even if she shuts everything down). Not so easy to just “let it go and move on.”

Actually…I was going to respond that I completely understood and that I was sorry to hear about her day but I’m glad to hear her son is doing well. I was also going to agree on the point that the young woman needs to be held accountable for what she has done (but not by throwing her in jail). I just don’t have a lot of faith that she will get the mental help that she needs…because all to often it doesn’t happen, unfortunately.

People shouldn’t stop being compassionate…because THAT is the good in life that overshadows people like this “Emily” person. Everyone should know that even in the face of this morally corrupt deception…everyone’s heart was in the right place even if this person was a bitch. And it’s never easy to “let it go and move on.” But eventually…people do. And everyone deals with heartbreak in their own ways.

Honestly, I could see this person hurting herself (the scammy person) or creating symptoms for herself. She created an online persona that she kept up for YEARS and it truly had to take up a LOT of her time. Now that is gone. Her desire for attention is still going to be there and a lot of times people like this eventually escalate. And they generally continue until their caught. Even if this young woman isn’t prosecuted for anything she did in this case…I think her need for attention will continue and I think eventually she’ll do something to really mess up and get herself caught…not to mention it will become a viewable pattern.

Munchhausen by Internet…and I can see her escalating to Munchhausen to “feed” her need for attention.

I am so confused about the tinycandi hate. She has not said one unkind word, she has just given some practical advice and reason. She has been diplomatic and not a bit antagonistic. Why the personal attacks? She isn’t saying you shouldn’t be pissed.

tinycandi is a troll. Above she is asking why a mom of a cancer patient would feel bad when an online-friend died in a horrific accident on Mother’s day, 2 days after her 4-times-recurred cancer patient was released from the hospital and minutes after giving birth to her 11th child. tinycandi simply can’t understand why. Really? I don’t believe she is an idiot, so she must be a troll. Normally, I don’t respond to trolls, but this was just egregious. I’m starting to suspect tinycandi is yet another incarnation of Emily, here to soak up the last morsels of pain from the cancer families she manipulated for 10 years.

I’m fairly confident that TC is not Emily.
I have been active in a community where she was very active. In fact, she was one of the reasons that I chose to leave. I’m not sure wht she gets from inserting herself so strongly in these cases. She has said herself that she was involved in an online msbp case that was tried and convicted. I know her from a forum that is a critic site for the blogger mckmama. I think that the reason that she is turning people off is that she seems condescending. People respectfully disagree all of the time on forums. They state their opinion and move on. TC states it and states it and states it. Moves to another reply and states it again. Her responses are some of the longest on here. They, in my opinion, talk in circles and reiterate the same thing. It’s like she wants you to either agree with her or get into some back and forth argument. It was her m.o. Many years ago and continues to be.

So, to be clear brawkalicious, you (like tinycandi) also cannot understand why the mom of a cancer fighter would be affected emotionally by the horrific death of an online friend and fellow mom of a cancer fighter, on Mother’s Day just after giving birth to baby #11?

No. I fail to see the legal culpability for being a Class A Creep. I also have a dubious sense about the judgment of anyone who would text-message with a stranger for ten years, but that’s just my opinion. It’s fairly unanimous that this is a deep psychosis which deserves due punishment — neither tinycandi nor I have said anything so black/white as “Free Emily”. It’s a horrible, predatory, sociopathich mess — all attributed to one person. But it seems unhealthy to wail about the injustice to the point of ‘mobilize federal agencies because of my emotional distress.’ This is demented and bizarre, but so is demonizing individual posters because their opinions are divergent.

brawkalicious, the FBI argument is a strawman. I never argued that point (I even explicitly acknowledged that the legal issue was separate and likely moot) yet you and tinycandi keep bringing it up. So just to be perfectly clear: my argument has nothing to do with legalities.

My problem is precisely this: tinycandi is questioning why a cancer fighter’s mom could *possibly* feel affection for a fellow mom of a cancer baby who was brutally killed on Mother’s day. Look up, it’s right there in the comment starting “Can I just ask… why?” That comment is so absurd that she is either an idiot or a troll. And I happen to agree with you, she’s not an idiot. 🙂

So unless you agree with her on this point, you and I have no quarrel whatsoever, OK?

Dude. *Lots* of mentions of the FBI, no one is necessarily saying by you. I don’t even care if TC’s points are valid, and I can agree that the cyclical restatement is tiresome. But I still say there are general lessons to be taken from Emily’s horrendous and cruel lies —- be cynical, I guess. Trust but verify. And maybe she sounds condescending because she’s … right. I’m certainly not trying to spin this into a hostile exchange with you or anyone, I’m just surprised by the turn this has taken. This exactly is why one of my wisest friends says the only thing that stops her from believing most conspiracy theories is her doubt that groups of people can cooperate harmoniously for very long. ; )

Michael, I ASKED why the person was so upset. I didn’t KNOW she was the mom of a cancer patient…I’m not tracking who says what and the back history. Which was why I ASKED why she was upset because I genuinely wanted to know her point of view. It wasn’t meant to be condescending.

I’m not a troll. I just have a personality flaw. I’m long-winded, argumentative, and I tend to beat dead horses (not in an animal abuse sort of way!). I am also not PC and pretty straighforward/blunt in conversations like this and I think that comes across as condescending…even though that’s not my intention. I’m just trying to be factual and direct. People don’t have to agree with me…I just don’t like feeling that I’m being misunderstood. Just who I am…sorry.

And no…I’m not Emily or fake. I’m tinycandi everywhere and have been around a lot longer than this Emily chick. I just heard about this from the anti-mckmama blog and was intrigued. I only started “arguing” or whatever when people were suggesting to flood the FBI with the story. Call news stations…that’s going to be more effective at this point. And if someone in law enforcement picks it up from there…they can further investigate. It’s already been on the local news here where I live.

For what it is worth, I went to my local police department and gave them what I had. They opened a file and the lady that was assigned to me ( I think she is from the Sherriff’s department actually) said that she has committed numerous crimes. So there’s that. I encourage you to take it to your local department and they can contact her local authorities.

There’s a difference between thinking there could be a crime…and a prosecutor actually pursuing the case and filing charges. I never said people shouldn’t contact their local authorities…I just said that I don’t think it will go very far. All I specifically said was that people shouldn’t flood the FBI about it. AND…if anyone has sent this woman anything…DEFINITELY contact your local police. Something like THAT will have more weight.

Why are any of your (our) comments more valid than tinycandi’s? This seems absurd. You all sound a little pitch-forky to me — first “JS”, briefly Taryn, sometimes focused enough to attack Emily, now Tiny. Humanity is a tapestry, and at times we see only the backside of the design. Chill out and be content with your own perception of this s***show — even if your opinion is not validated by every single comment on the Internet!

I don’t think I have much more time than anyone else here. There are plenty of other people responding quite often. And since all of this is flooding my inbox…it keeps sucking me in (anyone know how to turn that off after it’s already started?).

But yes…today I have lots of time because I’m suffering some health problems of my own and don’t really feel like doing a whole hell of a lot else…since you brought it up.

I am another who was taken in and had a terrible Mothers Day. I have followed this whole hoax saga and have enjoyed reading everyones perspective (execpt tinnicandi). I think that even though nothing illegal may be able to be proved, she really did mess with one heck of alot of peoples emotions. The only REAL thing I have to say is that I don’t think she will go away…….or that this is truly ended. For someone to carry this fabrication on for so many years, has to be an addiction that she will not be able to stop on her own. She may stop for awhile but I think someone has mentally ill as her, will again start another story. She obviously got a great deal of satisfaction in doing what she did……and she is going to terribly miss all the attention.

everyone,
whether or not this “tiny” character’s point upsets you, lets face facts. tiny was probably not talking to JS for years of their life and now are mourning the loss of a friend who never existed, or donating to a false cause, or simply became emotionally impacted by the “Dirr” family, therefore, they just cannot understand what others are going through. i talked to JS consistently for FOUR years, every day when i got home from school (i’m 17) and i am absolutely devastated that my online “big brother” is gone.
however, the point of this wordpress was to discover whether or not Warrior Eli was a hoax, and indeed it was. obviously people are doing the right thing and reporting it to the police or FBI or whatever feels appropriate.
To the people who think the FBI should not be involved; maybe you’re right, but the FBI has the ability to pass the case down to the right people so that doesnt really matter anyway. what matters is the people who were scammed, whether it be from money or emotions, find peace with the whole situation. i am personally trying to deal with my own feelings of loss for a person that wasn’t real but had an impact on my life since i was 13.
yes, maybe i was dumb for falling for it, but clearly there are adults on here who fell for it as well, and i think whatever anyone chooses to do in order to grieve or to help their anger for being scammed, is fine. I’m sure a lot of BS cases land on the FBI’s desk, so if this case is deemed inappropriate for them to handle, then it will be passed on.

just as a clarification, i meant no offense to anyone, i was just trying to make a point. i obviously have no idea if tiny had ever talked to JS for an extended period of time. i apologize if anything i said was offensive to anyone.

Nothing offensive about being shocked — very sorry this happened to you. It’s among the weirdest things I’ve ever heard of, for sure. She was probably just as reliant on your feedback as you were on hers, if it’s any consolation. But, ew, the lying! It just makes me feel skeevy. Again, truly sorry if we/I sound callous to the grief.

No…I never even knew about this person. I just saw people talking about it somewhere else and became fascinated. I’m a criminal justice/psychology graduate and it’s a little like researching case law. The more you research about particular instances of this stuff…the more you can build a solid profile from example.

I do understand, though, what it’s like to find out someone is a fraud or to be deceived by someone. I just asked a question that was taken the wrong way. It wasn’t meant to be accusatory of anything…I just didn’t know the background of *that* person and how connected they were to this case…which was why I asked.

You’re young…but know that for every fake person out there who manipulates people’s emotions and goodness…there are many more who aren’t. It may not be the last time you encounter something like this…but YOUR heart was in the right place.

And as general advice for anyone just be careful of how much of yourself you put out there. If you send someone something, never list your return address. They may ask in order for a thank you note…but the few times I’ve done it, I’ve just told them that I did it because I wanted to and no thanks are necessary…that I appreciate the gesture and hope they enjoy whatever it was that I sent (or whatever). I learned that mistake personally. 😛 Make notes of what you sent and where you sent it to and when. More often than not it will be an unnecessary step…but I think it’s better to be safe than sorry in case something DOES happen and you can file those details with police if it’s that type of situation. And if something feels off…it probably is! Google is your friend…just like in this case. That’s all just my 2 cents, though.

For what it’s worth, I gathered my family of six around the computer and choked through sobs while reading the viral Facebook post on Sunday. And even though the language sounded saccharine — and the story a bit fantastic — I bit.

brawkalicious,
no offense was taken! i was just trying to elaborate how someone in my situation would feel, thank you for the apologies.
the creepiest part was that when i received my last batch of warrior eli bracelets, i also received a hand drawn picture with crayons done by “eli”

now i’m picturing some creepy woman drawing them to look like a five year old… ew..

Drawings?? Oh, dear. I’m concerned about Emily having access to actual children. <— slightly less worrisome than a 22yo impersonating the art of a child. I read in here that someone did a whole "Warrior Eli" presentation at their elementary school, too. I don't know if the extent of her predation can ever be measured, since pride may keep people from admitting being drawn in. Ick, ick, ick.

Ok people don’t think the fbi or police should be involved…fine. I want this story to go nationwide to find out if enough was received over time to press charges. Click this link share what you know and let’s get today show to investigate. Alot of parents (I know alot personally) that have a sick child can put a note on caring bridge donate to paypal or bank so and so for donations. The caringbridge is locked down, some people might not follow on facebook. If they went to caringbridge to update they will see it locked down but may not know what the deal is. If your outraged, lets get attention!

My only comment (that hasn’t already been stated multiple times by many different folks) is in reference to this statement: “I also have a dubious sense about the judgment of anyone who would text-message with a stranger for ten years, but that’s just my opinion.”

Dubious sense about the judgement….it’s a modern day pen-pal. Has no one ever had a pen-pal? I used to write to several people for many years that I never met in person. I don’t think my sense of judgement was impaired. I think it was a very nice way to meet people and broaden my horizons.

Oh, that was me. Pen pals have a somewhat verifiable address, and buy stamps. And wouldn’t likely pretend to be 71 different people. And, pen pals (I know I probably sound Puritanical) devolved into phone sex much less frequently. I’m sorry for the tone of that — maybe it’s a generational thing. I’m only 33! I wrote to many pen pals from the back of Archie comics, but there is something different about the mode. Communication with my pen pals either faded away with seasons of life, or we became mutually less important/convenient to one another. I can see how the mobility of cellphones would allow the “relationship” to go on for longer than is healthy or advisable. If I think about this entire scenario for longer than five minutes in a row, it makes me feel crazy. So I’ll reserve my self-righteous statements until … five minutes later when I’ll probably have a view 180 degrees different. I wish her computer could be confiscated (CUE THE FBI). Ugh. I’m trying to take macro lessons out of this rather than micro manage every step of a sick puppy, you know?

I have been following this story and believe me when I say, this will definitely hurt more than just the people she has duped. I am heavily involved in raising awareness for my friends little boy who has Stage 4 Neuroblastoma Cancer and this story has put MANY people off of donating. This is worrying many organisations who truly are trying to help people, not just the organisation she used in this hoax. Also, there is no way this girl is simply going to pack away all of her ‘friends’ and put this down to experience, this has gone on WAY too long for that. I don’t think she has any intention of doing so. If she did, why not either come clean on ALL of the profiles she used or completely close them down? We know of at least one ‘friend’ she contacted AFTER the hoax came to light and she was STILL continuing with the lies. We have no idea how many other people she has privately messaged on Facebook. By making those profiles so private, what she has actually managed to do is stop any of us letting people know what has happenned. I do not know how it would work but this needs to be kept on record somewhere, she will go on to do something like this again and maybe worse so this whole thing needs to be known about by the proper authorities. How many times have serious crimes come to light and it turns out this person has been duping, stealing and other petty crimes for years before they are caught doing something really big? If she is only 22 years old now, she has plenty of time to move up the scale into much more serious offenses. Just my opinion.

This will sound crazy but… After I visited with my mom and sisters on mothers day I went home and emailed one of my sisters and my mom pictures of Dana, Evie and JS. I included JS’s message from that morning that he had posted to facebook.

Just now, im going back through my emails and it is nowhere to be found… NOR is the reply my mom sent me. Freakin shady.

I just read an article about the 9 major ways criminals use facebook. No. 8 seemed to fit this scam….”affinity fraud”……where a person assumes anothers name, sets up an account and uses a story to “bring in” other people. in this way, that person is a friend and has access to all your information. Not sure if this “Emily” had this type of fraud in mind, but if what she did fits this type listed, then it sounds like it is a crime and totally illegal.

Only if she did actually take money. She never asked for it so it will be hard to prove criminal intent with that. If anyone sent her money they should contact their local police and if it’s enough, hopefully she will be caught.

Wanted to see what all the fuss was about on the Lily/Chloe blog hoax, so I came here. Great job on exposing these frauds for what they are, Taryn. If I were the REAL mother of Chloe, I’d be hurt beyond belief that she killed off my child. What a NUT!!

Sounds to me like the next person that should be investigated is this “TinyCandi” person. A WHOLE LOT of defending for a internet fraud, in my opinion, is coming from the computer of this nutcase. “TinyCandi” has had a presence on past sites I’ve been a member of. She collects a lot of government assistance (probably her reason for defense of the FBI and their daily docket!) and lives in her parent’s basement. Sounds a lot like where a lot of hoax-sters get their start. I am just amazed at the length and quantity of comments from this one “person” in defense of the Warrior Eli hoax blogger. Who would defend a lying, manipulative piece of shit?!…only another piece of shit.